After devising various pivotal inventions in the 1870s and 80s (including the phonograph and incandescent light bulb), Edison discovered a talent for business. Thankfully, Edison’s entrepreneurial awakening coincided with the introduction (and acceptance) of electric power into the western world’s imagination. The opportunity to pursue commercial and financial success through ever-expanding technological innovations did not pass Edison by. In 1889 he and two others founded Edison General Electric – later to become GE.
Edison General Electric’s rise to prominence did not take long. Wide-varying developments over the prevailing few decades – from the giant electric locomotive to the x-ray machine – helped GE establish its permanent place in the industrial and technological landscape. Soon, with GE’s advancements in voice radio broadcast and electric home appliances (such as the electric stove and television), the company’s scientific advances reached the domestic space. GE’s knack for skewering disparate markets with similar technologies is no better reflected than in the company’s magnetron vacuum tube, which was a crucial component in World War II radar technology – and domestic microwaves.
From World War II onwards, the prowess and scope of GE’s technological innovations broadened. With a range of developments encompassing everything from moldable plastics to commercial jet engines to nuclear power, GE’s contributions to technological industries the world over has been ceaseless. GE continued in the same innovative vain throughout the 1960s and 70s, introducing and refining laser light technology and developing medical scanning devices, all the while expanding their business on an international level. A massive company expansion in the 1980s (involving the creation of the NBC television network) led GE to reach the millennium as a healthy $100 billion dollar company with a universal reach and renown.
The history of GE truly is one steeped in technological innovation and advancement; and throughout this rich history, the humble light bulb has held permanent residence. From the creation of new fluorescent lamps in the 1960s to recent innovations in energy-efficient LEDs, GE have demonstrated a consistent affinity and capability with lighting. Considering it was also a GE researcher in 1908 who developed the tungsten filament, making light bulbs durable enough to be used by cars and trains, it’s little wonder that GE have retained such a grip over the automotive lighting industry.
GE’s reputation for affordable, world-class automotive lighting is typical of its history of introducing elite technology into everyday life. Recent ranges of headlight bulbs, such as the halogen-based GE Megalight Ultra +120/130%, Sportlight Ultra and xenon-based Xensation, offer an insight into just what has made GE one of the most highly regarded, technologically advanced manufacturers in the world. Take a look at our product ranges here, and see the light!
(Note: Please note that GE is in the process of ‘phasing out’ their involvement in automotive lighting. Bulbs currently advertised under the GE brand will, however, still be available under the brand name Tungsram – the current manufacturer of GE bulbs. Throughout this transition, bulb quality shall remain unchanged, as shall the factories, designs and materials used in their manufacture.)